And just how did I get here?

So today I had one of those days where I question what I am doing. This was prompted by my saying (quite loudly, I might add) to a co-worker that whatever happens at work doesn't matter cause it's not like it is my "real" job. Completely forgetting that, yeah, it kinda is! They pay me, a lot of money, and while I was intent on dissing my self in a "self-deprecating" kinda way, she took it the wrong way.
Understandable!
But it lead me to a larger examination of just what I am doing. What am I doing? Am I killing time until I go back to school? Am I killing time until I can make art because C is going to be making all the money and I can be the "artist" partner? What exactly is going on? I want to know. I want to know just what the fuck my own brain is thinking. What got me here? Do I really want to go back to school, get my phd, write and teach? Nothing this semester put me on the track to want to teach. Perhaps it was my own inexperience? I have taught film/video production, sound, editing but teaching an actual class that consists merely of lecture and with no technological component? Hard. H.A.R.D. Hard as a muther fucker. I remember when I taught the pre-college program. I felt like every day I was winging that shit. was I? Did they learn anything? The problem is that those students had to make a video. These kids don't. They have to write a paper and that is what I critique. Hard. H.A.R.D.
But do I want to sit at my desk and run reports for some annoying ass clowns? I like a lot of the people I deal with. But then again there are some people that I want to beat down into the ground!
Ah. I don't know what I am babbling about. I am up late, tired and dealing with a cranky C. I need to get my ass to bed.

names

Ugh! Winter.

So it appears that winter is finally here. I look out the window of the office next to mine and watch the snow pass by vertically. Should be a nice ride home. The ride in this morning was as annoying as it always is when the weather sucks. Lots of people decide not to drive. They pile their overweight bodies into the MBTA train and subject us daily commuters to their cluelesness. These are the people who have no idea that there is a small degree (very small - cause this is Boston) of etiquette involved in taking the subway. They pile in invariably weighed down with a large backpack that increases the amount of square footage that they occupy by at least threefold. They enter the train and pause, spinning in place, trying vainly to decide which direction to go in. Thereby holding up the entire loading process by blocking said entrance. The crowd begins to gather behind them growing increasingly agitated as they too would like to enter the train and stand in such a manner. It is about this time that I am prompted to change my music from something soothing and calming to a genre decidedly more aggressive. It does not improve my attitude towards the masses. I hate them so much.
On an up note this weekend went very well. I purchased the new Futurama film on DVD this weekend. They are releasing a series of films that at some point in the future will be divided up and screened as new seasons. It was extremely funny. More so than the Simpson's movie of the past summer. It is clear which show has the better writers.
We also watched Delicatessen. I had seen it before but C had not. Some of my students are presenting on the film this coming Thursday. It really is one of my favourites. C prefers Amelie but this one is much darker in tone - which is my preference. Jeunet really is a wonderful director.
I have to watch Fellini's 8 1/2 this week as well. Probably will do that one tonight. I haven't seen it in over a decade. Looking forward to it.

Well, well, well

It appears that I can post from work. I have tried and tried and for some reason when I go to compose from Gmail I get blocked. Well,I have discovered a way in. That is excellent. I shall begin complaining about my life and everything in it anew!
Lets start with today shall we?
Here is this mornings course of events:
Today was take the kitten in to be spayed day. C booked the zipcar so we could do this. However, he booked it for 8PM not 8AM. I arrive at the parking lot to find no car. Call up zipcar ready to begin screaming at someone only to have my customer service rep deride me for my own (or rather C's) stupidity. I had to walk about a mile and a half away to Kendall Square to pick up the "new" reserved car. Get in car head back to pick them up.
Turns out the vet was throwing up copiously and had cancelled our appointment.
I then leave for work and green line is moving behind schedule. I sit at Lechmere for 15 minutes in the cold.
Get to work at 9:25, compile a report fast and furiously for a 10 o'clock meeting. The meeting is subsequently cancelled at 9:55 just as I finished photocopying and collating.
Check my bank account and it turns out that the bank had autocharged C's student loan payment from my account because the original account (our joint account) had been closed by us last month. The bank decided to take it out of my account without my approval so I was overdrawn by $400. with an additional $60 overdraft fee. I had to storm down to the bank only to have them tell me that they couldn't do anything because I opened my account at the Dartmouth St. branch and I had to deal with them! I wrote my office number down and told "Victor" that he should resolve this and when he did to give me a call, then I stormed out.
And all of that took place before 11 AM.
I really needed a cocktail! Liquid lunch anyone?
Dare I go to the gym today? Who the hell knows what can go wrong next! I am being very good with my gym attendance. I have been four days a week for the past month. My Express button down shirts no longer have uncomfortable stretching points in the middle regions of my torso.
On a happier note we gave our students an extra week to write their final papers. Which means no grading this weekend!!!Huzzah!
I am exhausted from the pace of this semester. I have been shuttling back and forth from downtown to campus twice a week and I am seriously ready to be done with it! Of course now that one of my former professors knows that I am interested in doing the instructor side gig he has recruited me for the spring. The added appeal being that I will be at Harvard and hopefully not have to deal with poor writing skills. MIT students are smart but writing skills? Not so much. I have had students who have never written a paper...NEVER! I'm sure they can work the fuck out of a problem set but analyse a film? Clearly not.
I guess that is enough for now. Back to websurfing, I mean work...

Half Naked Mormons mmmmmmm....oh wait. That is so wrong!

I have given up writing about Paris. Not my fault really. Our apartment was broken into and well, I no longer have a laptop nor photos loaded onto said machine to make my story that much more interesting and visually engaging. I am up late tonight with a bout of insomnia and came across this story from the Sydney Morning Herald. I wish I had something better to give you on my return to blogging but hey...half naked Mormon missionaries is all I got.
Sure, they went a little over board on the body grease but I think a half naked Mormon is better than one in a tie banging on my door. oh wait. Perhaps this is a continuation of that fantasy I had...

Almost done with Paris

I am almost finished writing about the Paris trip. Then I can return to complaining about my life and the travails therein.
Monday morning I once again work up and worked on papers. I critiqued and began emailing students while sitting at a cafe enjoying wonderfully strong cup of coffee.
Monday was to be shopping day. It was rainy and gloomy, perfect for window and interior varieties. We set out from the hotel and headed up the Rue de Bac. Our first stop was Sonia Rykiel Homme. She doesn't sell her men's line in the US so we had to make a stop. I wasn't a big fan of her clothes (big, wide horizontal lines on everything - seriously?). C found a jacket that he quite liked. It was kinda rain-coaty and kinda not. It was 500 Euros. And it would have to be tailored. He decided to think about it. We walked about the heart of St. Germain de Pres, all the little fancy shops. Quite a few of them are in Boston now so it didn't make sense to buy anything but it was fun. We ended up heading to the Pantheon as I had nixed it on the last trip.



Foucault's Pendulum - interesting but was a little underwhelming. It was very small. There were signs not to take photos but lots of people were so I said fuck it and took a couple. Didn't really come out. We went down into the catacombs and checked shit out. I had to leave after a little while, there was an odd smell down there, like old people and dirty feet. blech! And it really creeped me out.
We touched base with Bev, our new friend from Saturday, and made plans to meet for drinks at Harry's. The weather cleared up and we headed down from the Pantheon and had lunch at McDonald's!! Yay! I was very happy to have a simple hamburger and fries. I was so freaking sick of French food at this point. We started back towards St Germain and the other side of the river.

Stopped at Notre Dame so C could replace his lost photos from last year. Crossed the bridge over to Ilse St. Louis and up towards the Bastille. Checked out a few galleries on St. Louis. I took a photo of a cute dog sitting outside a shop waiting for his owner.



We ended up doing a large loop from the Bastille over to Les Halles and the Opera.
Checked out a courtyard off of the Place de Vosges which was pretty cool. We stopped at Agnes B Homme to check out their clothes. She only has three shops in the US that sell her men's line: NYC, LA and SF. C convinced me to buy a jacket. I have since fallen in love with it but it did cost a small fortune. It stressed me out.

Next stop was the Opera district. We were running late for our drink with Bev. We made a quick stop at Hugo Boss. C asked to try on a jacket that was in the window. They had two left. He fell in love with it. He bought it. It is admittedly a fabulous jacket that they are not selling in the US. We both really needed a drink now. Off to Harry's!
The night began with a bang. We each had three Manhattans as only Harry's bar can make them - extremely drinkable!

Sunday Cont.

I am sitting in a hotel in Santa Rosa, CA on yet another wedding jaunt. My body tells me it is almost noon while the clock says 9. I am wide awake and have been for about an hour. I decided to tackle the rest of the Paris trip.
I need to get this down before I start forgetting it. Plus I need to start complaining about things that are happening right now! I can't do that until I finish my Paris story.
We left Cafe Americain and headed back to the hotel. We were due to meet W & J for dinner. We swung by the Jau de Paume so that C could buy his Pierre & Gilles print that he had obsessed about over lunch. We stopped by l"Orangerie to check out the Monets. This is a museum that has been in the process of being refurbished for about five years. It finally opened last summer. It is a museum that was designed exclusively for Monet's Waterlillie paintings that he donated to the French government early in the 20th century shortly after he finished painting. I had seen a couple of them at the MFA a few years ago. They let them tour while the museum was being built. They are quite stunning to see all together.

There is another gallery built underneath the Monet rooms housing the private collection of a French couple who were dealers for Picasso, Gauguin, Pissaro and others. It was okay. A lot of things by people who made some pretty famous works but these were clearly the things that didn't sell. Mediocre paintings from great painters.
We hung out at the hotel for a while. The guys came over and we had drinks then heading out. The place we had wanted to go for dinner was closed on Sundays so we let them pick the place. It was a nice little bistro and we got to sit out on the street. J was not too pleased at this as you tend to get harrassed by street venders when you do this. Some guy walked up and down playing an accordian - we gave him a Euro - then a couple people selling roses came by, saw the four of us men sitting there and didn't even bother coming over. Slightly offended. Food was great of course, J and I shared a beef carpacio which I had never had. Tasty. Couple bottles of wine as well.


We walked around for a bit looking for a place to have a cocktail, window shopping. The St Germain neighborhood is perfect for this. It is full of fancy shops full of gorgeous things.
We ended up having drinks and this "trendy" art themed bar.


Another couple bottles of wine and then we all stumbled back to our respective hotels. W & J were leaving Monday for the States. Tearful good byes and promises to visit Paris together again. (Not True - but sounds nice eh?) We ended the evening with W showing us his favourite courtyard in Paris. It was a tiny, simple, little park with four chestnut trees surrounding a lamp. Perfect. And, of course, it was surrounded by fancy shops selling gorgeous things!

Saturday night and Sunday

The night continued. We found a bar that would let us have one drink, or rather one bottle actually. There was a group of people behind us who were also celebrating a birthday. We decided to call it a night when K accidentally spilled a glass of red wine on John's lap. We managed to hail a cab in short order this time and headed back to our hotels.
Sunday morning/Noon was rough. I crawled out of bed around 11:30 or so. While C pulled himself together I headed to the cafe across the street to finish grading papers. I was in dire need of bad greasy food i.e. McDonald's. The only one I could remember seeing was across the river right by the Louvre. We headed out. We got there around 2 and the line was out the door and down the street. So we nixed that. I remembered that there was another one on the Champs Elysee. We moved on.


One the way there we passed the Jau De Palme museum. They were having a Pierre Y Gilles show and Sunday was the last day. So we walked through. Great show. Pierre and Gilles are a gay couple who do portraits. They take the photograph, paint it then photograph it again and print it. The have done some amazing work. And some mediocre work as well. The problem with a retrospective show is that you get a bit of both.
From here we moved on in search of food. Wandered into the Opera neighborhood. We end up eating at an American themed restaurant. I had a burger and C had a club sandwich. It was very odd, they were playing US college football on the TVs. Luckily they were also playing the Australia vs. Fiji rugby match. C had never actually seen rugby in action. He was suitably horrified.

More from Saturday night's party

The Party

The timeline of the party was drinks at 7:45 and dinner at 8:30. At a little after 7 we finish up our glasses of wine and begin our trek to the restaurant. We had a general idea of where it was. Over by Les Halles somewhere. What we didn't realise was exactly how far it was. It was really far. Both of us are reticent to take a cab in Paris - their metering system is vague, they are hard to flag down - so we had opted to walk. We walked and walked and walked. Both of us are wearing dark wool suits and it is far hotter in Paris than the weather channel had informed us. By the time we make it there we are both sweating up a storm. Bear in mind that the restaurant is also deep in the Marais. We had to walk through a neighborhood best described as being "like Times Square in the eighties." Porn shops, ladies of the evening, the whole shebang. But we walk in and are immediately handed a glass of champagne. It went uphill from there.



The building housing the restaurant was built sometime in the 12th century. It was redecorated and turned into a restaurant around 1910. It is an art deco wonder. Three floors. The first floor is the main restaurant, the second is for private parties numbering over ten and the third floor has three private rooms: one for ten, one for about eight and one for two. We were on the second floor.
The party was wonderful. W & J had put out place cards so that people wouldn't sit near someone they knew. I sat across from a wonderful woman whose husband used to be the head of development for the MFA. To my right was a woman who sold properties in the Hamptons for Sothebys and to my left was a charming British woman who used to teach French at a private boys school in the UK. Needless to say she came in handy.


Food was astounding: there were seven courses. We had blue footed chicken (a breed specific to France), there was a foie gras course, a cheese course (made me very happy) and so much else I don't remember. Oh and lots and lots of wine. After dinner they made people switch seats so that they had to chat with someone new. I ended up chatting with a woman who is the curator for a private collector of Latin American art based in Phoenix. She was fabulous. We made plans to hang out later in the week. Most people were heading back to the UK on Sunday while we were staying until Wed. It was the perfect opportunity to hang out with someone new.


People began leaving after cake (which was around 1). We hung around with W & J and their friend K who is American but lives in London. She is a painter who teaches at a university art school in the city. We headed out in search of cabs. Couldn't find one to save our lives. We ended up at another bar.

more later.

Another day in Paris

Saturday. A bit hung over once again. I http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifgot up around 11, cleaned up, left C lying in bed and headed to the nearby cafe to grade papers. I had about 27 one page papers that I had to read, edit and grade. I thought it would be easier than it was. C joined me around 1:30 or so. We had a bit more coffee then headed out. We went off towards Bon Marche. Specifically the food market which was un-fuckin-believeable. Looking at the cheese counter was like looking into the sun. I couldn't do it. I had to walk away. There also had a fucking Veuve Clicquot champagne bar - in a super market! I was ready to move in at this point. I would have slept on the floor between the croissants and the fuckin champagne. We grabbed a few pastries, some juice and water and headed off. We ended up walking around les Invalides (Napoleon's tomb). Sat on a bench and ate our snacks.



We walked up to and past the Eiffel tower and ended up at Paris' newest museums, the Quai Branly. It was one of the worst museums I have ever encountered. Bad, bad, bad. I thought that the Anthro museum in Chicago was bad but this was really, really bad. Poorly designed, ill-lit, and just a pain in the ass to navigate. The only cool thing about it was the outside. The building was fantastic from the outside. The inside? Not so much. It was basically a history of French colonialism. If France never occupied a country there wasn't much in the museum. Nothing from India, China, or Australia. All Africa. And lots of it. Kinda sad really.
Afterwards we walked back towards the hotel, looking for someplace to eat along the way. To no avail. We ended up back at some bistro on St. Germain eating pasta. Good but have I mentioned yet that the World Rugby Cup was taking place while we were in Paris? There was a contingent of Irish sitting at the bar and cheering on the UK while we tried to eat. Day three of this shit and I was getting pretty fuckin sick of the Irish and their big fuckin mouths.
Back at the hotel, changed, had a glass or two of wine and headed out to W's birthday party. That event is an entry all by itself. It involved lots of wine, cool people and a shitload of food.

Names...

Paris Diary

Day two in Paris started off well. We slept until noon. We rolled out of bed and proceeded to spend the day leiserly walking around the city. Strolled along the Tullieries, which we had done in winter but it was a much different experience in late summer/early fall. We did a bit of shopping and stopped for lunch at an Italian cafe we had visited last year. It was as good as I remembered and the little old lady who waited on us didn't seem to mind my broken French. We spent the afternoon wandering around the Pompidou Center. There were several interesting things. They were doing a show of the collection. I got a little burned out. How many friggin Kandinskis can one take in an afternoon? Headed back to the hotel to get ready for drinks and dinner with our friends W & J. The main reason we were here in Paris was to celebrate W's 40th birthday. The had returned to Paris from a cruise through the south of France that afternoon. We all planned to meet up at their hotel for drinks and then move on to dinner. Ah, the glory of Blackberry's.

Needless to say we ate and drank the night away. The others piled into various taxis and the four of us (C & I, and W & J) went back to their hotel for another bottle of wine in the courtyard. We eventually stumbled back to our hotel - thankfully only blocks away.

Crap, I have to go to work now. I'll post more later.

Home

Back from Paris last night. Exhausted. Nothing like a taxi strike to make one's trip to Charles De Gaulle interesting. Schlepping our luggage through the Paris metro is not something I enjoyed doing. It set the tone for the day.
I took over 500 pics so we'll be setting up the flicker thing this weekend.
Off to work this morning. C took the rest of the week off. Fucker. At least I don't have to do laundry.
I'll begin posting a summary of each day shortly. I know you are all bursting with anticipation.

Paris

We have arrived in Paris. Actually, as I write this we are beginning day three. Getting here was a total pain in the ass. We took British Air and the flight to Heathrow sucked big time. First of all we were stuck in the center seats - never a good thing. Then a big muscled German guy sat in the seat in front of me and insisted on moving his seat back so far that he was practically in my lap. Throw in the screaming kids to our right and well, you get one of the suckiest flights I have been on. And the food was heinous. Never again will we fly BA. After our flight home that is.
But we arrived safe and sound. Get to our hotel and we can't get into our room until 2. It was 10:30. At this point I had been up the entire time. I cannot sleep on airplanes. So, we have to wander around town until our room is ready. I seriously started hallucinating I was so tired. We had coffee and lunch, walked around Bon Marche and killed some time in an Irish pub. We finally got into our room and crashed for a couple hours. Around 7 we roused ourselves and took a walk over the river looking for a place to get a drink. We ended up at the Hotel Normandy bar. We both ordered a cocktail and tried to relax. Not ten minutes later the local chanteuse began singing cabaret songs. I had my back to her and honestly couldn't tell if it was a man or a woman singing. She began with "Misty" and got the lyrics completely wrong. In her version it was not a kitten up a tree but a chicken. Something got lost in translation. She then began scatting and wringing her hands not in a jazz-like manner but more tourettes-esque. It was a wonder to behold. By the time she began channeling Carol Channing we decided it was time to go. I thought that C should get his picture taken with her but alas he didn't got for it. We wandered around a bit taking photos and ended up in the Latin Quarter right at dinner time. We picked some ubur trendy restaurant (unbeknownst to us) and I proceeded to have the rarest hamburger I have ever had in my life. Apparently this place is known for it's steak tartar. Everyone around us was eating it. We decided to call it a night. Had a glass of wine in the hotel bar and proceeded to crash. We both ended up sleeping for 12 hours. It was so nice.

Vacation...all I ever wanted.

The day is finally here. Tonight we get on a plane and head to Paris. I am dreading the trip for several reasons, none of which have anything to do with reality.
1. started new job - feel kinda guilty that I am leaving so soon. But they knew that when they hired me. They just finished training me on some big reports that I had to spend the past three days training someone else on so it gets done for me.
2. Missing a recitation section. They also knew this when they hired me to teach it. Still feel guilty having another instructor cover for me. I'm compensating by grading papers on the plane.
3. Leaving the children home alone - our neighbors are gonna watch them. A is going to come over and do schoolwork so they will have someone present (probably more then usual as we are out so often). I realise they are just cats but still...
4. Instead of taking Air France and having a non-stop trip we are going British Air and laying over at Heathrow. It has been several years since I went through there but I do recall it being a complete pain in the ass. All at five in the morning. I'm exhausted just thinking about it.
This is all made up for by actually being in Paris for a week. I must admit I am a new convert to the joys of Paris and France. I am much more of a Germanic-phile having studied German language & films along with traveling to Berlin many times. I love it, love it, love it. Paris is growing on me. I love Berlin but it was such a freaking pain to find good food - I gather this has changed quite rapidly. Several friends who have been recently have raved about new restaurants etc.
Anyway, we bought a new camera and our hotel has wi-fi so I'll be posting from Paris. If...blogger actually works this time. I tried doing it last year but couldn't get blogger to load. We'll see.
peace out y'all.

Today is just going to suck...I know it.

The first week of work has come and gone. Nothing very exciting to report. I am still waiting on several pieces of software to come through so I can do the things I was hired to do. Of course by the time this occurs I will be leaving for a week in Paris. A shame I know.
I had my first recitation class last Thursday. Only a few student showed up which is to be expected. The actual first class isn't until today, this afternoon in fact. My Tuesdays will run 6:30 AM to 10 PM. I am already exhausted and I only just got out of the shower.
The reason for this is mainly because I went to a going away party for my friend K last night. She is moving to Hawaii. I am psyched for her but sad to see her go. Also I was a little peeved at C for not remembering to open her evite so the party came as a complete surprise to me. I got off work, went to the gym and then met him at Davio's only to discover that the "short" evening I thought we were having was going to turn out to be much longer. We didn't get home till after midnight and here I am getting up at 6:30 still a little drunk. Blech. I don't like this feeling. I didn't like it when I did it at 23. I don't like it now that I am much, much older. To top it all off we ended up at McD's for late dinner. I'm pretty sure that is contributing to my ass-y feeling.
Lame-ness all around.

Australians

You can always count on the Australians to give Americans a bunch of shit.
I was glad to hear that they are also willing to stand up to Bush in a way that Americans could never even consider.
Sydney locals are pushing for the largest ever mooning. And our president, ass face Bush gets to be the recipient.

Work...again

I just wanted to catch up on my blogging. It is 2 AM Monday morning and I got home about 40 minutes ago. I spent my evening serving food, drinks, and a dinosaur cake to about 200 people out west of the city. I have reached the end of my catering run and I am fuh-kin exhausted. I never thought that I would long for the comfort of my office chair (big ass factory that it is). Unbelieveable. If I don't cater for a long, long time I will be happy. I had completely forgotten how brutal it can be. And I am so fucking out of shape it isn't funny. I think the only reason I survived is because I finally started going to the gym again three weeks ago! The one thing that got me through the night was Paris. Granted it wasn't as bad as last week's wedding when I worked in 102 degree heat. Once I got home that night it took me over three hours to get my temp back to normal.
The people tonight were great. Extremely nice and laid back. I worked their rehearsal dinner last night. It is always odd when entering a complete strangers home and taking over all of the public spaces they have created. You enter the house and begin looking around for art (well that is what I do). This simple reason is that, I went to art school, but I also think that people in the Boston area tend to have a great deal of art in their homes. It is important to them either personally or professionally. Having art hanging in a home denotes a certain intellectual curiosity or knowledge that carries a great deal of cultural and social weight.
When I was catering in Rhode Island the art in clients' homes was rare. It was there but often notable for that fact. Degrees of weath perhaps? Social scenes? The people this weekend actually were artists, at least the mothers of the Bride and the host of the rehearsal dinner were. I didn't really get a sense of the grooms family. The brides family were so much more social and present (personality wise).
I'd like to write more but I am so fuckin tired I'm not going to.

Hurst's Diamond Skull finally sells.

It appears that Damien Hurst's diamond encrusted platinum skull has finally sold.
An investment group has paid $100 million dollars for it.
What was that I posted earlier about the possible collapse of the high end art market? I guess we can disregard that. Apparently those hedge fund people still have plenty of cash to throw around. This is on top of the over $300 million that Hurst's show in June brought in. He has apparently strong armed his gallery into a 30/70 split.

Things, gorgeous things!

Perhaps I should have clarified my new position mentioned in the previous post.
The investment bank that I used to temp for came chasing after me with a job offer. I gave them a figure which they matched and added a bonus on top of. I start on the 4th. Unfortunately, as I mentioned earlier, I agreed to cater for a few weekends doue to our impending jaunt to Paris on the 19th. This company has agreed to give me the vacation time as part of my hiring package. it is a win-win situation. I really like the people I will be working with. They are not the group of 12 year olds I currently have to deal with at my present place of employment.
I have also been asked to TA an undergrad film class at MIT. This company has also graciously allowed me to do so even though it is technically against corporate policy.
I'll have more on this later.

shit happens

It has been a few days since I have posted. I feel like I should put something up here.
News: I got a job offer - finally - and I took it, good money and vaca and a whole lot of free time. I am honestly quite confused by it.
I've really got nothing to say. I just wanted to post this clip from Mr Show.



cheers!

Sobriety? Nah!

Not a whole lot happening this weekend. I am trying to enjoy the free time before I lose my weekends. Starting next Sat I beging a three week catering marathon. I need some extra money (like there is such a thing) as we are leaving for Paris in a few weeks. I will lose weekends but gain some loot. I suppose it is better then sitting on my ass drinking all weekend.
Speaking of drinking I have given up beer for the duration. I thought it would be difficult but now I don't really mind. I had a couple of Guinness' on Friday and, yes they were tasty, but I know they will be waiting for me when I return to beer.
I need to lose twenty pounds or so and as a wise friend once told me "no one ever lost weight drinking beer." Now I've not gone totally crazy sober! I'm still enjoying my old friend alcohol. Instead I have a diet cocktail. Vodka, soda, and a splash of Cran. It is about 80 calories vs. 200-300 in a beer. I don't really like it that much either which means I drink less of them. It is all part of my scheme. That and I have started going to the gym 4 or 5 times a week again. I should be back to my old weight by maybe...next summer?

Stupid aging! Damn you sedentary lifestyle!

Eruption

I think I was in a game design class with this kid.

Michel Gondry

I had the pleasure of meeting and having lunch with Michel Gondry. I subsequently participated in a Q & A with him at a university event. He is one of the nicest, most amazingly talented people I have ever met. He is so frickin cool and a kick ass artist. I love him.
He has a new film coming out called Be Kind, Rewind. It looks so fun and smart. It is due December 21st.
I am psyched.

Movie Madness

So C and I have been in a bit of a movie blitz.
We went to see Harry Potter and the Simpson's Movie. Then watched a couple of horror things On Demand - Silent Hill, Dawn of the Dead (remake), I still have to see Transformers before it leaves the big screen.
Harry Potter - just okay. the novel was pared down quite a bit, many characters removed yet it still felt like it was burdened by a cumbersome narrative. There were times when I thought I was watching a TV mini-series or perhaps Degrassi on the N. Action scenes were done fairly well. Ending felt rushed. Overall I'm glad I saw it but it was one of the more lackluster of the series. Alas. That said, Daniel Radcliffe was very yummy to watch (thankfully now past the age of consent).

Simpson's - Started off with a bang. Great series of jokes that was quickly derailed by a narrative built for a feature film. I wished that they had carried over the TV programs tradition of multiple narratives all unraveling at the same time. But no. All the great secondary characters were represented but relegated to either cameos or quick flashes as background filler. Still liked it though. Two words: Spider-pig!

Silent Hill - Fun, cheesy, gory horror film based on the video game. They managed to carry over the mood and tone of the game. Several scenes were taken directly from the game. Unfortunately the storyline devolved to a rather annoying hell/damnation scenario. I was disappointed.

Dawn of the Dead remake - made by Zack Snyder (300) who will now be helming the Watchman. This film is awesome. I love the fact that the zombies run not shamble.
Kick ass. Best scene: chainsaw accident in the van. This movie rules.

names...

And another one bites the dust

I just got another rejection letter. It would have been distressing if I hadn't written the job off ages ago. Once again I shred the letter and throw it in the bin. I add it to the psychological resume heap that is my application process. I have resigned myself to my current position as an administrative assistant. That is what $140,000 of education gets me. I can decypher French postmodernist thought and analyse the fuck out of a film or piece of art. I have two essays being published this year, one by MIT Press, but the only fucking thing I am qualified to do is answer phones and arrange someone elses travel and calendar. Lucky me.
Bitter much? You bet your fuckin ass. There are many miles and years between my life as a restaurant person and as an admin but honestly I could have saved myself many thousands of dollars and years of intellectual labour by just diving into administrative work. Like everyone around me.

God damn it.

Yikes!

Well, it has been some time since I have posted. I keep falling into the trap of thinking that nothing is really going on in my life and then! Two months or more have passed and I haven't written a damn thing.
Things have gotten better. I have begun temping at a new company. I started on May 23rd. I like the company. They have streamlined the entire admin job. it is all software based. I do almost nothing. It is good and bad at the same time. I am fuckin bored a whole lot! But I do have time to read and have been studying for the GREs. I hope to take them in the fall or winter. I'm in no hurry. I may take them a couple of times.
They have begun asking me if I want to be hired. I got nothing else going on. I haven't gotten any responses from the 20-30 resumes I have sent out. Honestly I am making more money than I ever have in my life(as a temp). Like I said before I do practically nothing. They will pay me the same or slightly more if I take the job. On top of which I will have benefits, vacation, etc. Nice. I am so looking forward to a trip to the dentist!
That is really all I have to add. It is nice to be back. I am still contemplating creating a separate blog for "intellectual/work" type stuff. I hope to get it completed and ready soon. I have also been trying to find time to create my website. Finally.
I have begun writing a script as well. it gives me something to do besides sit in bars and drink.

names out.

The Golden Compass.

Turns out that I have a tiger for a daemon.
Sweet.
They have yet to post a trailer online for this film but some of the pictures look interesting. I like the books so it will be interesting to see how the film comes out.

work, papers, shit like that.

jeez, it feels like ages since I posted here. I believe it has been about two months.
There really hasn't been much to talk about. I had nothing.
Things got a bit more interesting last week. My company has decided to actually hire me! Moving me out of the temp world to the world of exciting things like health insurance (and just in time really. As of June or July all Mass residents must have insurance regardless of employment status), dental insurance, vacation, 401(k) all that good shit. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I love the company and the people I will be working with but it is so not what I saw myself doing when I went to grad school. I have to keep thinking that in the end I will make more in the investment banking world than I ever would have in the art world.
Anyway on to more interesting things. I gave a paper at a conference at MIT this weekend. I talked about appropriation and queer cinema. People seemed to like it. I had lots of nice film clips.I showed a short piece of my friend Peter Spears called "Ernest and Bertram." This film was a huge success until it was pulled when the Children's Television Workshop threatened him with a lawsuit. It is a retelling of Lillian Hellman's "The Children's Hour" only with Bert and Ernie from Sesame St. It is pretty fucked up.


I think that is all for now. Work calls.

Names out...

Scorpions

The Scorpions were my favourite band for quite a long period of time in my life. I would say from about 13 till 18, 19. I liked them. They had their annoying "love" songs that got chicks to go to their concerts but they also had mad music ability that got the rock guys to go as well. I loved them alot. I lost touch with them, as most of us did, in the great grunge transition years of 91-94. Scorpions who? we all asked. they were gone. They gave me my first glimse of San Fran:


They also gave me my first tranny song "He's a Woman and She's a Man!" (warning! this video is hella old and rather poorly transfered to digital) oh, and the narration is in German:


But now they have this song and video which I find odd and yet extremely attractive and disturbing if only for the fact that John Corbett is killed by a vampire. sadly a woman vampire. and the fact that Klause Meine is bald with a scalp tattoo. when the fuck did that happen? What the fuck is wrong with German people?


I don't know but I'd move to Berlin in a mutha-fuckin heartbeat.
Bitches.

VD and More

Here are some recently posted clips of 300.

I stand by my advocacy of this film.
oh and happy VD day.
I offer up this email exchange between my friend Cat and myself today as evidence of how much this "holiday" resonated in my psyche.

CAT: So, did you figure out your VD plan?

ME: first off: penicillin for that VD.

CAT: It's all 1952 in here and shit.

this was preceded by the following exchange will also serves as an example of our mutual disdain for this day. Read and be enlightened.

CAT: Valentines Day sucks on the train. This afternoon a bunch of skinny bitches will be toting giant things of flowers.

ME: Seriously annoying. One of the admins got a large thing of roses from her husband. I accused her of sending them to herself just to make the rest of us feel like losers.

CAT: Nice.

and so it goes...

names out.

300

Two words: Fuckin awesome!
I can't wait to see this film. The early word is that it truly kicks ass.
This movie has several things going for it.
1. Frank Miller created the graphic novel on which it is based.
2. Created by the same peeps who made Sin City
3. Ninjas
4. lots 'o male nudity...



Finally! A film that I cannot wait to see!

TMI about me.

Now it seems I can't stay away from this friggin blogger thing. I feel obliged to continue with this meme. Topher has thrown down the gauntlet and who am I to not rise to the challenge?
Here we go:
A) Four jobs I have had in my life:

1. Fry Cook

2. Bartender

3. Electronics salesman

4. Mac tech

B) Four movies I would watch over and over:

1. Brazil

2. The Seventh Seal

3. Cheech and Chong's Next Movie

4. Office Space

C) Four books I have loved:

1. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe

2. A Brief History of Time

3. The Second Self: Computers and the Human Spirit

4. Kitchen Confidential

D) Four places I have lived:

1. Exmouth, Western Australia

2. Manila, the Philippines

3. Guam

4. Newport, RI

E) Four TV shows I love:

1. LOST

2. No Reservations

3. Futurama

4. Venture Brothers

F) Four places I have been on vacation:

1. Hawaii

2. France

3. Germany

4. Singapore

G) Four of my favorite foods are:

1. Steak au poivre

2. Mom's beef stew (my own is pretty tasty too!)

3. Tuna sashimi

4. Australian/British fish and chips

H) Four places I would rather be right now:

1. Back in bed

2. On a beach somewhere warm with a cabana boy bringing me cocktails

3. NYC

4. Berlin for the film fest

I) Four friends I think will respond first:
Skipping this one as I am the last in line!

names out...

I'm twenty years shy of handsome.

okay, I realise it has been a while since I posted here. I had gotten disillusioned to the whole "blogging" thing. It felt so tied to my graduate experience that once I had finished I no longer had anything to write about. Looking for jobs and slaving away at my temp job somehow didn't seem interesting enough to deserve a blog post.
I'm going to try this again. Granted, I can no longer blog from work. Access to this site is now blocked.

Short story of the week.
I met up with C and some friends at Davio's last night. This is a big fancy restaurant in the Park Plaza part of town. It is too expensive to eat there but not too bad for cocktails. We probably go there too often and spend too much money. But it is a fun place and the people watching can't be beat. It attracts lots of suits and B&Ts. Something we like to do when sitting at the bar is count the face lifts and Russian hookers.
Anyway, back to last night. I get there first, order my cocktail and get stuck into my book. I notice a couple of older gay men sitting a few seats down from me. They are "bear-ish" types and are having dinner at the bar. I overhear one of them saying how he likes Davio's cause it "reminds him of Vegas." This I found to be an odd reason for liking a restaurant but whatever.
A few moments pass and I am just about finished with my book when one of the gentlemen approaches me. He proceeds to tell me that he was looking over and me and had this startling realisation which he felt compelled to come over and tell me, "You will be a very attractive man in twenty years" he says. I was kinda stunned. I don't think he realised that this statement, while phrased as a compliment, really wasn't! Lucky me! In twenty years my ugliness will fade and lo and behold I will be considered attractive. I smile and nod to him and say "only time will tell" and return to my book. He smiles back at me and returns to his seat.
WTF?